39% online shoppers couldn't find best-before dates on most grocery sites: Survey

A LocalCircles survey has found that many FMCG brand websites and apps do not display best-before dates before purchase. The findings have renewed attention on disclosure rules as FSSAI moves to enforce online display.A LocalCircles survey has found that many FMCG brand websites and apps do not display best-before datesImagine adding a packet of biscuits, a ready-to-eat meal or a grocery staple to your online cart. You check the price, pack size, ingredients and other product details, place the order but there is one basic piece of information you cannot find: how much shelf life the product actually has left.That appears to be a reality for a significant number of online grocery shoppers.A nationwide LocalCircles survey of nearly 20,000 consumers found that 39% of respondents could not find the best-before date displayed on most FMCG brand websites or apps. Even more strikingly, 33% said they could not find the date on any of the apps or websites they used. Only 27% said the best-before date was displayed on all the FMCG D2C platforms they used.The findings raise a simple consumer question: when you cannot see the date before buying, how do you know how much shelf life the product you are ordering actually has? THE PROBLEM IS NOT JUST ONLINE GROCERY APPSThe issue goes beyond quick-commerce and online grocery marketplaces.According to the survey, major FMCG brands including Amul, Patanjali, Unilever, ITC and Nestle have been flagged in the findings for not displaying the best-before date on their own D2C websites and apps. That distinction is important.These are brand-owned platforms selling products manufactured by the brands themselves. The manufacturing and shelf-life information already exists within the companies' systems. Yet, according to the findings, that information is often not being surfaced clearly on the product page for shoppers.39% COULD NOT FIND THE DATE ON MOST SITESThe survey asked nearly 20,000 users how they found the best-before date or remaining shelf life of products they had purchased or browsed on FMCG brand websites and apps over the previous 12 months.The responses paint a concerning picture.27% said the best-before date was displayed on all the apps or sites they used.14% said it was displayed on most.6% found it on some.6% found it on only a few.33% said they could not find it on any app or site.14% could not say.Taken together, 39% nearly four in 10 shoppers surveyed, could not find the best-before date on most FMCG websites or apps they used.A ‘6-MONTH SHELF LIFE’ DOESN’T TELL YOU EVERYTHINGOne of the biggest problems highlighted by the report is the difference between telling consumers a product has a particular shelf life and telling them when the specific pack they are buying will expire.For example, a product may simply state that it is good for six months from the date of manufacture.But if the manufacturing date is not shown, the consumer cannot calculate how much of those six months remain.The survey report cites examples where D2C listings provide statements such as “use before” a certain number of months from manufacturing, without providing the manufacturing date itself.That leaves the shopper with a duration but not the information needed to determine the actual remaining shelf life.EVEN BIG FMCG BRAND WEBSITES HAVE BEEN FLAGGEDThe report includes examples from several major FMCG websites.On the Amul website, listings examined in the report for products including T-Special Rusk and Velvett Chocolate Drink did not display the best-before date, manufacturing date or shelf life. The report also highlights an infant milk food listing where these date details were not displayed.On Patanjali's website, a besan listing stated that the product should be used within four months of manufacturing, but the manufacturing date itself was not displayed. A shower gel listing similarly referred to 24 months from manufacturing without showing the reference date.The report also examined listings from Hindustan Unilever, Nature's Basket and Haldiram, where either the actual date was absent or only a generic shelf-life period was provided.WHAT THE RULES SAYThe report points to the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, amended in 2017, which require e-commerce entities to display mandatory declarations of packaged commodities on their digital platforms before consumers purchase them.The report states that the best-before or use-by date is among these declarations, and that the rules do not distinguish between marketplace platforms and brand-owned D2C websites.There is, however, a regulatory gap highlighted by LocalCircles.FSSAI's Food Safety Act requirements ensure that food products delivered through online platforms have at least 30% of their shelf life or 45 days remaining, but the report says this does not itself require the date to be displayed to consumers at the point of purchase.FSSAI NOW SAYS IT WILL ENFORCE ONLINE DISPLAYThe development comes shortly after FSSAI announced that it would ensure online platforms selling food display best-before dates.LocalCircles has welcomed the move but has called for FSSAI and Legal Metrology under the Department of Consumer Affairs to work together to address the issue. It has also said the findings will be escalated to the Legal Metrology Division, the Central Consumer Protection Authority and FSSAI.WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU AS AN ONLINE SHOPPERFor consumers, the takeaway is fairly simple: a product's stated shelf life is not the same as the remaining shelf life of the pack you are buying.If an online listing only says “best before six months from manufacturing” but does not tell you the manufacturing date, you still do not know how much shelf life remains.The LocalCircles findings suggest this information gap is widespread across FMCG D2C platforms, with only 27% of surveyed shoppers saying they could find the best-before date on all the brand websites or apps they used.For something as basic as packaged food, the date on the pack should not become information you discover only after the delivery arrives.- EndsPublished By: Chaitanya DhawanPublished On: Sep 7, 2026 16:00 IST